


Asking for Advice

by Amahami



Series: All Around Us [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alphonse Elric - background, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chronic Pain, Cuddling & Snuggling, Ed is dying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Parental Izumi Curtis, Sick Edward Elric, Vomiting, death planning, ed does not die in this fic, trisha's illness was hereditary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amahami/pseuds/Amahami
Summary: "How did you prepare Sig for your inevitable death?"Izumi froze in her movements, not even breathing, then she turned to Ed with uncharacteristically wide eyes and open fear on her face."Tell me you're not–" She cut herself off, grimacing and studying his body.In which Edward is dying of the same thing that killed his mom.
Relationships: Izumi Curtis & Edward Elric
Series: All Around Us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858846
Comments: 10
Kudos: 226





	Asking for Advice

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [a terrifying clamour of trumpets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7011241) by [ShanaStoryteller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShanaStoryteller/pseuds/ShanaStoryteller). 



> This entire series, in fact, was inspired by it.
> 
> Thank you to my ever lovely beta [Shilo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shilo1364/pseuds/shilo1364).

Al was out in the butcher shop helping Sig, and Ed was in the house doing dishes with Izumi. They'd been at the Curtis house for a day and were settling into things, and Al was _ finally _ out of earshot.

Ed took a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the need to cough, and asked, "How did you prepare Sig for your inevitable death?"

Izumi froze in her movements, not even breathing, then she turned to Ed with uncharacteristically wide eyes and open fear on her face. 

"Tell me you're not–" She cut herself off, grimacing and studying his body.

It was a good day, so he wasn't overheated from overexertion, and his joints weren't terrible, but he  _ was _ nauseous as hell and struggling to keep breakfast down, as well as quite dizzy.

He didn't even feel a hint of a tremor, though.

"Oh, Edward," Izumi said, wrapping her arms around him. "Is today a good today, at least?"

Her voice wasn't soft, not really. But it was  _ her _ soft. It made his eyes water, and he tucked his face into her shoulder to hide the tears.

"Yeah," he said, voice thick, "It's a great day."

"Then we have chores to do," Izumi said in her no-nonsense voice, releasing Ed from her steadying grip.

So in the awkward silence – Izumi collecting her thoughts, Edward worrying about her reaction – they finished washing the dishes, then moved on to clean the kitchen and sweep the floors.

Once they were finished, Izumi sat on the loveseat, patting the cushion next to her in a quiet request.

Once Edward was settled, she turned and rested her legs on his lap, and finally broke the silence.

“Sig was the one who found me after– after," she began, "So he already knew, and knew it was a miracle I was still alive a week later. He knows not to take a single day for granted."

Edward sensed a  _ but _ , so he picked up one of Izumi's feet to massage it, to keep him from interrupting her.

He was rewarded a few minutes later when she finally continued, "But I've also tried to have plenty of new adventures and experiences with him, and make sure he doesn't forget about living his own life. We take photos together somewhat regularly, so he has something of our time together once I die."

She shrugged uncomfortably. "We visit my future gravesite together sometimes, and we talk about how we're feeling, and we try to be honest about it. We don't beat around the bush with flowery language like pass away, move on, go to a better place. We say die, death, dying. That's been…" she trailed off, taking another deep breath, stomach hitching minutely.

"That's been most helpful for me, being upfront about it. I'm dying. I will die, and I don't know when, but it's going to be sooner rather than later, and I will not live to be an old woman."

Edward stared at Izumi's feet, fighting back tears. "How do you cope with the knowledge of your impending death?" he asked eventually, once his throat was clear enough to speak.

"Some days, I don't," she said bluntly, causing Ed to look up in surprise.

"Some days, I'm terrified of dying, and I don't want to die, and I spend the day miserable. But I continue with my daily responsibilities as best I can." 

Ed nodded slowly, digesting her words and committing them to memory. 

Izumi was visibly vulnerable, looking at him, and it honestly scared Edward. He knew it was a ridiculous thought, but he didn't think Izumi  _ got _ scared.

"So… be upfront and keep going? That's it?" he asked skeptically after a moment.

Izumi shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah. Let yourself feel those negative emotions, Edward. You can't bottle them up. And for the love of all that's holy, take  _ care _ of yourself! Take the medication you need to, take hot baths, drink broth instead of a meal,  _ listen to your body _ ."

"I can't," he said, "I need to get Al's body back. I can't slow down, I can't even  _ tell _ him! He'd want to stop, but I  _ will not stop _ until I succeed or die trying."

Izumi nodded in understanding. "You won't be able to hide it much longer, Ed," she warned, rubbing Ed's arm with her foot. "How bad are the symptoms?"

Ed grimaced. "Mostly dizziness, shitty balance, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, headaches, muscle weakness, tremors, that kind of thing."

Izumi nodded again. "Want some advice?" she asked as she sat up again, grabbing a notepad from the coffee table.

Once Ed nodded, she wrote something down. "Go see this doctor. He deals with me so you know he's not an absolute quack. He can help you get pain and nausea meds, at least." She ripped the page out and handed it to him.

"For the vomiting, you'll want to have a travel toothbrush with you at all times, or at least some alcohol to rinse your mouth with. And when your legs want to give out, if you can manage decent balance, you can lock your knees in a pinch so you can have a better chance at getting to the ground safely."

Izumi tapped her pen against her chin as she thought. "Carry cough drops with you, or some other hard candy. I prefer something with honey in it, myself. Oh, when you're vomiting a lot, you'll want to drink saltwater, or drink water and eat something salty. You need electrolytes."

She paused and looked to Ed. "Wait a second; I'm not the first person you've told, am I?" Izumi was a bit paler than she'd been, and looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Ed grimaced. "Besides a couple doctors, yes."

Izumi sighed. "You need support, Ed. Beyond what I can give you," she said firmly.

Ed just shrugged. "I know."

"What'd the docs say?" she eventually asked.

Edward shrugged again. "They don't know. They can't find what's causing it. But the symptoms match exactly what killed Mom, so…"

Izumi grimaced but nodded. "That makes sense. Do you know how long you have?"

"No," Ed answered hesitantly, "But once I tell Granny I'll ask how long it was for Mom. I know once I am constantly cold and can't get warm that I'm at the end, but that's all I remember."

Izumi wrapped Ed in a tight hug and just held him safe in her embrace. They sat there like that for several minutes before Ed finally spoke up.

"I don't want to die," he whispered. 

Izumi rubbed his flesh shoulder, grimacing. "I know, kid. I'm sorry."

They continued to sit there like that, Izumi holding Ed and rubbing his arm until they heard the door separating the shop from the house open. They jolted apart and stood up, preparing to make lunch.

____

The next day was a bad one. Ed's joints felt so tight they might as well have been nonexistent, and the thought of food made him heave. He felt like he would collapse in his own vomit if he so much as breathed wrong.

Izumi took one look at him at the breakfast table before turning to Al. "Would you mind going to pick some herbs for me while we eat, Al? I need some basil for lunch, and if you don't mind picking some tomatoes too?"

Al scraped his chair back as he stood. "Sure! I'll go right now," he said, turning and hurrying out the door.

As soon as he was out of the house, Edward slumped so much his head hit the table.

"Ow," he groaned, not moving.

Something hit his head, and he sat up grudgingly to look at it. It was dry toast, and he grimaced, not able to suppress a heave.

"You need to eat something," Izumi demanded, "even just one slice. You need something. And some water."

Edward grumbled incoherently but began nibbling on his toast. Sig watched him worriedly.

By the time Al got back, Ed just had a little bit of his toast left, and he put the whole piece in his mouth when he saw his brother.

_____

Once Al and Sig were tending the shop, Izumi drew a hot bath with oils for Ed. While she waited for the bath to fill, Ed came running into the bathroom and shoved her out of the way, dropping to his knees in front of the toilet and vomiting up his pitiful breakfast.

Izumi hurried forward and sat next to him, rubbing his back and promising it would be over soon.

It wasn't over soon. Ed spent the next half-hour on and off heaving into the toilet, being miserable.

Between bouts, Ed asked, "Does it get easier?"

"Vomiting?" Izumi asked to clarify. Ed nodded and she said, "Yeah, it does. It gets a lot easier, and you get into a routine for how best to handle it. You'll figure it out."

Ed nodded, resting his head pathetically on the toilet.

Once it had been a while since he threw up, Izumi had him get into the bath once she refilled it with hot water.

As Ed settled, the relief was so intense he actually started crying. Izumi just nodded along with him, resting her back against the side of the tub, allowing him to feel his emotions with quiet support.

When the water had gone cold, Izumi helped Ed get out, then had Sig come in under the guise of needing him for a few minutes while Al worked on both of their tasks.

Sig massaged Ed's sore muscles with kind but relentless hands. It was the best kind of heaven he could ever have imagined, and he allowed himself to bask in the love, physicality, and the good pain of the massage.

Sig had just finished up his legs when out of the blue he said, "Find a lawyer and have them help you write up a power of attorney and a will."

Ed jumped. "Wha??"

"Izumi told me. You need a will and power of attorney as soon as you can get it," Sig said quietly but firmly, moving to work on Ed's back.

Ed just nodded and silently vowed to look for lawyers later in the day.

He ended up sleeping instead, but he'd get around to it eventually.

For the time being, though, he let the Curtises take care of him while distracting Alphonse.

After a week of being pampered (for the Curtis definition of it), they finally bought train tickets to the west to follow some rumours.

Before they left, Izumi handed him a file with her will and power of attorney. "The military might need something different, I don't know. But if you need a starting point, use mine."

Ed nodded, and Izumi pulled him into a hug that was surprisingly gentle. "You better keep in touch now, or I'll come up and kick your ass all the way to Xing. You hear me?"

Ed nodded his head so fiercely he resembled a bobblehead. "Yes, Teacher."

"Good. Now get on that train and make me proud," she demanded, promptly turning around and going back to the shop.

Later on, he'd find a mostly blank photo album, with two photos in it - one from the day they left Dublith back to Resembool, of the four of them taken by Mason, and the other from the day he and Al were trying to bake bread. Al's hands were absolutely covered in dough, and Ed had dough in his automail despite wearing gloves. They were both clearly mid-laugh, and Izumi was in the corner smiling for the camera.

Photos might be for more than just the Hugheses, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this! If you're up to it, please let me know what you think! <3


End file.
